Supermarkets

Design goal – lure you in, move you through in some organized fashion.

1.  communicate freshness, crispness, color

            hide smells (fish, meat, even fruits and vegetables) – wrap, coat veggies with oil

            bright colors – awnings, aprons

2.  communicate security

            provides many choices but the familiar products are prominent

3.  communicate choice

            buy features items with the highest mark ups/profit

            95% of shoppers who sample an item will buy it

Demographics

            Majority still female, but number of males increasing

            Most arrive without a list – only 1/3 of purchases are planned

Locations

• If turning one way, will look the other way.
• In aisle “gondolas” or “endcaps” – usually worst deals
• Slower music (slows carts, more purchases)
• Shelve out of alphabetical order – buy more
• Cereal is organized by brand, with the more popular brands flanked to the left (like reading) by “new” products (store brand that is cheaper)
• Average eye height of women is 59 inches; of men it is 64 inches. Since we prefer to look 15 degrees below the horizon and stand 4 feet back, best elevation is 51-53 inches off the floor. Placing products at this level increases sales.
• But juice sells best on bottom shelf

Communities

“Small town” model – walkable, affordable, diverse, environmentally friendly communities, create a sense of community (one of the most valued features in a new house)

Reaction to models that were dictated by the car (freeways, malls) which lead to:

• monotonous subdivisions of homes

• residents segregated by income and age

• shops, schools, offices, etc. accessible only by car -- average suburban households makes 12 car trips daily. Distance from work can result in 2 hour commutes costing 12 workweeks per year.

• residences built for larger families even though family size is decreasing.

New model

•  mix of commercial and residential areas

• public transportation

• cul-de-sacs

• tree-lined streets with wide sidewalks

• public spaces such as village greens and parks

• greenbelts to prevent sprawl

• house set closer to street with front porches and garages in rear (kitchens in front) but with enough variation in appearance to be interesting

• intersperse single family homes, duplexes, apartments and small cottages

• narrower streets with many stop signs, arranged in grid rather than feeding into a single “collector street”

• the streets as “public rooms”

• benefits – rising housing prices, lower initial costs (more compact/less land, lower infrastructure costs), less car costs (second car typically costs $5,000/year)